2020/9/6 - Patch v7.1

v7.1 (aka the "Christ Jesus, Don't Any of You Sleep??" release) has been released to the (new) installer. There's a lot to cover, let's get to it.

First, we have a new installer again. I know, I know, again, but bear with me. To start, you do not have to delete your old cache. Just delete the installer itself and replace it with the new one then run it normally. Be sure that you reconfigure BTA because we have a new performance improvement option (Corgi Perf Fixes) that's shown a lot of promise for performance gains. It's worth your time to do this, I promise. For this specific update we also recommend a new career, but it's not required, your old one will work fine.

Now, onto the changes for this patch. They're considerable!

NEW FUNCTIONALITY (kinda): A new performance fix added by RogueTech has been released to us as well. Choose the appropriate option in the new installer (this is why you need to download it again).

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: BT Advanced Backgrounds has been implemented, thanks to Wulfbanes. This overhauls the starting screen when you choose your commander's background. There's more backgrounds, unique abilities, and new options to pick, each with their own benefits and effects. I recommend Bounty Hunter and Pioneering Comrades. ;)

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: Pilot skills got a second pass. Tactics 8's alternate changed from Eagle Eye to Knife Fighter, a support weapon ability (see notes in FAQ about it). There also are now Level 10 capstone abilities, Stone Cold, Defensive Formation, Sprinter, and Eagle Eye.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY (kinda): bloodydoves the pilot now has bloodydoves the person's voice. Many have asked for this, so here you go. That voice pack is also available to commanders, if you want it.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: LootMagnet has been incorporated into BTA. Our branch only does the bundling of equipment, no holdback mechanic as I hate it.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: The UI in combat is slightly changed. Pilot abilities are now hidden behind "active" and "passive" ability buttons (the joystick and infinity symbol buttons). This is to open up space to do more interesting things with abilities in the future if we'd like to.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY: Hovering over your pilots in the deployment screen or in the barracks will display all their mech affinities and the current rank the affinities are at, this should make it way easier to remember their affinities.

NEW MECH: The Vision Quest, a 60 ton Golden Century Clan design. Find it with the Clans.

NEW MECH: The Hazard, a pyromanic's 45 ton dream. Find it with the Circinus Federation. Non-canon design.

NEW MECH: The Crockett, an 85 ton SLDF mech that ComStar kept alive. Find it with ComStar, Rasalhague, and rarely the Clans.

NEW MECH: The Katana, a Kuritan knockoff of the Crockett. Find it with, well, the Draconis Combine.

NEW MECH: The Grand Titan, a 100 ton Marik take on the OG Titan. Find it with the Free Worlds League.

NEW MECH: The Penetrator, a very memetic 75 ton energy boat. Find it with the Davions, mostly, though it shows up with the Steiners too.

NEW MECH: The Vanquisher, a 100 ton C3i sniper. Find it with ComStar.

NEW MECH: The MONSTER, a 150(!) ton death machine. Find it with the Steiners (kinda, see below)

NEW MISSION: There is a unique assassination, Monster Mash, which is the only place to find the Monster. It is a high-skull assassination against Steiner (and only Steiner).

NEW MODEL: The Icarus II has a new, much nicer, model.

NEW MODEL: The Huron Warrior has a new, much nicer, model.

NEW PILOT STUFF: Some ronin pilots have the new abilities.

NEW PILOT STUFF: BTA Team member, t-bone, has a pilot now.

NEW PILOT STUFF: BTA Team pilots now have better portraits.

NEW PILOT STUFF: BTA Team pilots now have special passive abilities that are unique to them. Tex has one too!

NEW PILOT STUFF: BTA Team pilots mostly now have unique affinities with specific mechs you can unlock if you level them up in the correct mech. Their descriptions say what mech. Tex also has one!

NEW PILOT STUFF: Retrainer unlocked again, you can retrain as you like.

• Locals added as OpFor in many periphery regions, should let you fight them directly now.
• Clan LB-20X had crit slots reduced.
• Clan standard pulses got a range increase to match standard IS pulses.
• The Cyclops got a few minor fixes and changes.
• Chem Lasers got a UI change to fit in better with other lasers.
• The contract Mad Science has been moved to higher skull ratings so you can't farm Matars early.
• Called Shot has been very slightly weakened.
• MechAffinity settings have been modified a bit to make affinity decay slower but also permanently expire after 10 missions out of the mech.
• Rotary Gauss stab damage reduced.
• Various core dll changes.

IMPORTANT: v7.1 is an "update" update with a twist. Download the newly updated BTA Installer, delete your old one (keep your old cache!), then run the new installer like normal, then after you update hit Configure BTA and select the new performance option (Corgi Perf Fixes). This is annoying I know, but it is necessary for some performance improvements.

Reminder: This update, and others like it, are made possible by my Patreon supporters. Without their support, updates would come slower and be less impactful. If you feel like being a part of the support for BTA, you can find me here: https://www.patreon.com/bloodydoves